Afghanistan was the sensation in the cricket Asia Cup that is currently underway. Despite being considered a hopeless underdog, they crushed Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the first round to advance to the second round of four, along with Bangladesh, Pakistan, and heavy favorites India. There they proved they were no mere flash-in-the-pan, all three of their matches ending in nail-biting finishes. Afghanistan provided pretty much all the excitement in the tournament.

They lost extremely narrowly to Bangladesh and Pakistan and held the mighty Indian team to a tie. All three matches went down to the very last over. The slightest twist could have ended in them winning all three matches.

Although they did not qualify for the final that will be between India and either Pakistan or Bangladesh, depending on who wins the game currently underway [UPDATE: It is Bangladesh], it is Afghanistan that is being rightly lauded and they can return home with their heads held high. They came in with just one internationally recognized player in leg break/googly bowler Rashid Khan but they proved that they have a good all-round team that no other team should take lightly.